Sunday, January 28, 2007

They should call it Spend-Too-Much-On-Stuffed-Animals-You-Could-Get-Anywhere-And-Lots-Of-Unnecessary-Accessories-Because-Those-Kids-Are-Just-So-Cute

Dear Andrew & Abby,

First, the applesauce update:

*Cinnamon applesauce - HUGE hit with Andrew. I had one serving, Andrew ate the rest in two sittings. And asked for more.

*Strawberry applesauce x2 - mixed reviews. They ate some, said they liked it, but are a slightly resistant. I think it's great, but still like the chunky better.

*Next - I bought 6 more pounds of apples so I can make Andrew more cinnamon applesauce and I am going to try some pear applesauce. I have to hurry, so I can give my friend her Pampered Chef corer/peeler/slicer back. Even though I don't really want to give it back ever. You two should seriously think about getting me this for Mother's Day. If I promise always to blend and chill the applesauce before I make you taste it? Please?

Anyway, this weekend, Grandma Dottie and Papa came to visit. On Saturday, we had the big Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. Andrew and Daddy worked on the car all week and it looked pretty good. He came in 2nd in his Wolf den. He was a little disappointed, but I was very proud of him. I did get a little irritated with Papa for commenting that he didn't think they ran the race fairly and that they should've raced Andrew and Logan's (the boy who won) cars again, and on and on. And ON and ON! I might have agreed with him, but Andrew would have been better off not hearing that. He picked up on the talk of injustice and started saying he should have won. I had to talk to him about good sportsmanship. Eventually, he worked through it and was fine. But I think Papa might need another lesson.

Daddy and Papa left the Derby to go to a basketball game (Purdue vs. Illinois), and Grandma Dottie and I took you both shopping. For Abby's birthday, Grandma wanted to get her a Build-A-Bear. We took a trial run the week before and Abby told me she wanted the frog. This is particularly funny because Grandma Dottie is TERRIFIED of frogs. In fact, it is a running family joke that we always sneak some kind of frog gift in for Grandma at Christmas. It's my way of helping her to get over her fear. And it's being a little bit spider. (You two probably don't get that last comment. I'll explain it some day.)

When we got to the Bear store, I tried to talk her into the beautiful sparkly pink and purple bear (her two favorite colors) with butterflies on its nose and one paw. It is really very cute and very Abby. I almost had her convinced, and then she remembered the frog. She literally threw the bear down and yelled, "I want the frog!" So, she got the frog, and picked a Cinderella outfit for it. Grandma took the frog-worship in stride, and even let me take her picture with it. As she said, it doesn't look like a REAL frog. She takes the frog jokes pretty well. I think the frog Christmas gifts are really helping!

Andrew also needled Grandma into buying him a Build-A-Bear for HIS birthday (which is still a month away). He picked a cute husky dog. And a puppy that magnetically sticks to the dog's mouth. And a Jeff Gordon racing outfit. Poor Grandma spent a load. I also bought Colts outfits for both of your animals: football player for Andrew's Buddy, cheerleader for Abby's Hoppy.

Then, Abby had a mega meltdown right when we left B-A-B. Complete with screaming, throwing herself to the ground, tears, judgemental stares from strangers, the whole shebang. The cause was my refusal to carry her through the mall. Why? Because we HAD A STROLLER for just such a reason. I had to forcibly strap her in, then tip the stroller back on two wheels to push it through the mall because she was lurching forward and to the side and dragging her feet on the ground. Thankfully, the straps held, because I'm guessing there would have been more judgemental stares from strangers - and maybe Grandma - if I'd managed to let Abby leap headfirst from the stroller and land on the hard cement floor. We stopped to throw pennies in the fountain and the tantrum finally passed. I chalk it up to Grandma's influence keeping me in line that I did not offer to give you away to a random stranger. Maybe you two should be asking her to come over more often.

This afternoon, we went bowling before Grandma and Papa had to leave for home. Andrew scored 100! He beat Daddy! And almost beat me, but I did manage to squeak by with a 106 (this is very shocking because normally your Daddy is the better bowler, but I was good and didn't gloat!). Obviously, we're not a family of bowlers. But you both love it and you had a good time. And considering how tired and cranky you were before we left, you must really like it, because you were both very well-behaved. Daddy and I agreed that we should take you bowling more often. I think Daddy just wants to practice so he can beat Andrew.

This is getting pretty long, but I do have one more thing I wanted to write about. With all the Colts mania going on, we talk about them a lot in our house. The other day, Andrew was listing off the players he knows. I had to get this down for future reference. Here is Andrew's list:

Peyton Manning (his favorite)

Marvelous Harrison (that would be Marvin Harrison)

Reggie Wayne (sometimes referred to as Wayne Reggie)

Shockley (apparently, he doesn't have a first name)

and my favorite, Joseph the Guy (that's Joseph Addai)

He also likes to tell me that he only likes one player for the Patriots - Tom Brady. I told him he needs to keep that to himself because he's in Colts Country!